The present invention relates to an impact energy absorption structure for a shifting device of vehicular transmission, and more particularly to an impact energy absorption structure for a shifting device of a vehicular transmission which comprises a main body and a shift lever protruding from the main body.
Conventionally known as an impact energy absorption structure of this type is an impact energy absorption structure constructed such that a main body is swingably provided on a vehicle body frame in such a manner as to be constrained with a constraining member against rocking thereof, whereby when an impact energy is applied to a shifting device of the vehicular transmission, the constraint with the constraining member is released so that the device main body is allowed to rock (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei. 10-16597).
However, if the impact absorption structure is constructed using a rock constraining system as seen in the prior art, there is caused a problem in which the construction of such a structure gets complicated to thereby increase its production costs. This is a first problem of the prior art.
In addition to this, conventionally known as an impact energy absorption structure of this type is an impact energy absorption structure in which a manipulating knob of a shift lever is formed of an elastic material and in which a part of a rod-like lever main body of the shift lever which resides in the manipulating knob is bent to the left of the driver, a notch being formed in the bent portion (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei. 5-246262).
In the conventional impact energy absorption structure, however, since a distal end portion of the shift lever is constructed so as to be bent by virtue of an impact energy from the driver, there is a drawback in which an impact energy absorption stroke is short, a low impact energy absorption performance being thereby provided. This is a second problem of the prior art.